{"id":444850,"date":"2026-05-17T08:37:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T15:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=444850"},"modified":"2026-05-17T08:37:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T15:37:03","slug":"norway-leads-europe-back-to-energy-sanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=444850","title":{"rendered":"Norway Leads Europe Back to Energy Sanity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Science Matters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Ron Clutz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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An article at Liberty Beacon spills the beans, or IOW, explains how they are letting the oil and gas cat out of the bag: \u2018We are talking about energy security for Europe\u2019: Norway doubles down on oil and gas production.  <\/strong><\/a>Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norway, an energy superpower, which gives it its massive sovereign wealth fund,<\/em>
is stepping up for itself and Europe. Sensible. Everybody wins.<\/em>
Meanwhile, the Left and the UK look like idiots.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In case of any doubt about Norway\u2019s commitment to maintain \u2013 and expand \u2013 its production of gas and oil<\/strong> offshore, the energy minister,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe will develop, not dismantle, activity on our continental shelf.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This week, to the alarm of environmental campaigners, he announced that three gasfields<\/strong> off the country\u2019s southern coast would reopen by the end of 2028<\/strong> \u2013 nearly three decades after they closed \u2013 to meet a shortfall caused by<\/strong> the impact of the war in Ukraine<\/strong> and disruption<\/strong> to supplies from the Middle East.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision will help keep gas and oil production at about the 2025 level<\/strong> \u2013 which has been stable for almost 20 years \u2013 and stay broadly the same for the rest of this decade<\/strong>. Norway has 97 offshore oilfields,<\/strong> three of which came on stream last year, and its Norwegian Offshore Directorate expects \u201c100 and beyond\u201d within the next two years, still producing at least the present level of 2m barrels of oil daily.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Barents Sea, in the high north, is the new gas and oil frontier<\/strong> \u2013 with the prospect of mining for seabed minerals between northern Norway and Greenland<\/strong>, a more distant prospect after initial surveys by the Norwegian Offshore Directorate \u2013 an agency of Aasland\u2019s department \u2013 showed potential.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNorwegian offshore production plays an important role in ensuring energy security in Europe,\u201d says Aasland.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe world, and Europe, will have a need for oil and gas for decades to come<\/strong> and it is crucial that Norway<\/strong> continues to develop its continental shelf to remain a reliable and long-term supplier \u2026 and (with) a high level of exploration activity.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The sector generates vast wealth for Norway, but the decision<\/strong> this week to reopen the Albuskjell, Vest Ekofisk and Tommeliten Gamma gasfields in the North Sea, which were closed in 1998, has received heavy criticism in some quarters.  It goes against the advice of the country\u2019s environment agency, and the Socialist Left party accused the government of \u201cgreenwashing\u201d.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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North Sea oil rigs | Source: GETTY \u00a9 GB News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Matt Gibson provides additional details at MSN Norway reopens three North Sea gas fields to power millions of homes while UK stalls.<\/strong><\/a>  Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norway plans to revive three mothballed North Sea gas fields as demand in Europe soars.<\/strong>  As the UK stalls<\/strong> on developing its side of the basin, with new licences banned and work on two fields frozen<\/strong> because of climate challenges, the Norwegian fields will be opened for the first time in 30 years.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are believed to contain enough fuel to heat millions of homes and the country says it is vital for European energy security<\/strong>.  The gas will be sent by pipeline to Germany with light oil sent to the UK.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Norwegian government has also said that it is keen to further exploit its resources in the North Sea,<\/strong> the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. It plans to access 70 blocks identified on the seabed.<\/strong>  Prime Minister Jonas Gahr St\u00f8re said: \u201cNorway\u2019s oil and gas industry is vital to Norway and to Europe.\u201d Energy minister Terje Aasland said: \u201cNorwegian production of oil and gas is an important contribution to energy security in Europe.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cDeveloping new gas fields allows Norway to maintain high supply levels over the long term. This has become all the more crucial since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The three fields are run by ConocoPhillips<\/strong>. The company\u2019s European president, Steinar V\u00e5ge, said: \u201cBy utilising existing infrastructure, we can produce substantial resources at low cost, and strengthen gas exports to Europe.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK spent \u00a320b buying oil and gas from Norway last year.
Meanwhile, its domestic output continues to fall. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offshore operators have complained that it is becoming difficult to work under the current political regime.<\/strong> Drilling at both Rosebank,<\/strong> Britain\u2019s largest untapped oil field, and Jackdaw,<\/strong> a gas field, has been halted after a legal challenge on climate grounds.<\/strong>  The decision on whether work can restart rests with energy secretary, Ed Miliband.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Norwegian fields<\/strong> were closed in 1998. However, thanks to new technology, they have become accessible.<\/strong>  They are set to reopen in 2028 and are predicted to be in operation for 20 years. Energy experts suggested that the UK\u2019s offshore industry was being held back by policy.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesman for Offshore Energies UK told the Telegraph:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe discrepancy in success in the two different regions of the North Sea is not dictated by geology. \u201cIt is entirely determined by how respective governments treat oil and gas resources through policy, regulation and taxation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Shadow energy minister Claire Coutinho said:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cNorway just announced 70 new blocks of oil and gas exploration, including in the North Sea. \u201cMeanwhile, just over the border on the British side of the North Sea, our Energy Secretary tells us we\u2019ve got nothing left so he has to ban new licences.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSame basin. Same geology. The difference is political will.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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